The time I lost my Fitbit. . .

* IF YOU HAVE A FRAGILE DISPOSITION OR ARE EASILY OFFENDED THEN PLEASE DO NOT CARRY ON READING THIS BLOG! 

THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY A TESSA MOMENT! *

I own a Fitbit One. I have owned it since October 2014 and for those of you that own one of these amazing devices you will know how addictive they can become. I have thought about upgrading my One but love the beauty of how discreet it is. I wear it attached to my bra, in between the two cups, and like that I can wear it all day, every day when I want. A few people have laughed when on a night out, if I've had a low cut top on, that you can see it, but you have to get your steps in anyway that you can! 

I know people who have had mishaps with theirs still being attached to their clothes and they have ended up in the washing machine; I have never had this problem but have had two occasions where I thought that I had lost it and let me tell you the fear and panic that comes with that are amazing. The first time I 'lost' my Fitbit it was in my bedroom, on my bed. Fear and panic set in which means that you can't think rationally and have difficulty finding anything. I did eventually find it having stripped my bed at least three times!

Having learnt from this mistake, and seen people posting on Facebook about a lost Fitbit app, I decided that I never wanted to be in the same position again, so I downloaded the app. 

Here this story really begins. . . 

My Fitbit One is usually in it's clip but sometimes depending on what I am wearing I take it out of the clip. This story goes back to one weekend in September last year, before both of my boys had gone to uni.

One Saturday morning, I got up and instead of getting completely dressed before I went downstairs, I was wearing a pair of knickers and a t shirt! It was easier to take my Fitbit out of it's clip and put it in my knickers than find something to put on! So, I folded them over the Fitbit to make a pocket. I knew that I wasn't really going to be doing much so it should have been okay shouldn't it?! Now this is a Tessa Moment so you should know fine well that it was never going to be that simple.

At some point I realised that the Fitbit had slipped out. I had a quick look in the area that I was sitting in. It wasn't there. I retraced my steps. Back to my bedroom and back downstairs again. Still no luck. I thought, 'Ah, Tessa, make use of your lost Fitbit app.' Now, having never used it, I wasn't actually sure how it worked but let's just say that it's a little bit like a compass and beeps the closer you are to the lost Fitbit. Turned on it said that I was in the right area. Downstairs. By or on my sofa. Cushions off and the search begins. I can't see it. Can it possibly have fallen down the edges of the sofa? I didn't think so but the app was telling me it was on the sofa! So I slid my hands around the edges of the sofa. I moved it; it wasn't underneath. I was now starting to get really, really frustrated. 

I thought maybe I was being a real techno-phobe and didn't get how the app worked. I took my phone back upstairs and it was now telling me that my Fitbit was in my bedroom. Really?! Tessa Jane you are reaching the point where you are going to have to admit defeat and ask for help from one of your more tech savvy sons! Only one of them was home, the youngest; I think that possibly his older brother was at work. 

He took my phone off me, went upstairs and as he came back downstairs and got closer to me sitting on the sofa my phone started to beep louder. 'Mum, it's definitely on or around the sofa!'. So, again we take all the cushions off. Can we find it, of course not! He then says, 'have you checked that it is not on you?'. Of course I have! That's how I knew that it was missing. I go on to tell him that it was 'wrapped' in my knickers. He then makes a suggestion that I check again.

I went into the toilet took my knickers down and low and behold there my Fitbit was! Where I can hear you asking? Nestled nicely and snuggly in the top of my vajayjay!! The laughter that then ensued and has done to every person that I have retold the story too was amazing. The reason that the app kept beeping when I was holding my phone was because the blooming thing WAS on me!!! 

I have tried my best to retell this story as if I was telling you. It's not been easy and the fun that I had coming up with the 'correct' word to use to describe where I found my Fitbit has caused a huge amount of amusement. For those that know me; I hope that you are not offended (I did give a warning at the top of the post!) and that you can hear me telling you. For those that don't know me you can hopefully do the story justice when retelling it to your friends and work colleagues as something that you read on the internet!

This is most definitely a Tessa Moment . . .

The start of Moonwalk training . . . for real!

So this week I started my #MoonwalkLondon2016 training in earnest.

I have been walking around 8 to 10 miles every Sunday since Christmas and this week it's now less than 11 weeks until the actual event!

We have been given a 12 week training plan which I have adapted to fit around what I currently do. By that I mean exercise and my life!

This week was three, 3 mile walks. It was recommended that we walk at a steady pace but as I have been doing fairly long walks for some time I wanted to see whether I could actually walk at pace and sustain it! Sunday was the first time I did it and I was walking on my own. I find walking on your own is more difficult than with someone as you don't have someone to help set the pace. I was really happy; I did 3.25 miles in 47 minutes, averaging 14.12 minute miles.

I did the second walk with a friend who will, hopefully all being well, complete the Moonwalk with me. We did the same distance averaging 14.11 minute miles. Great! I also felt that this is a manageable pace. Obviously, I am not sure that I can keep it up for 26.2 miles but that is what the training is all about!

When I devised the plan I'm not sure that I had thought properly about walking on a Friday night! As I walked home from work on Friday after a long week at work all I could think was I can't do this. I am very aware that an awful lot of the challenge is in your head and it can convince you not to do something. As soon as I got home I put my walking gear on and headed straight back out. I did exactly the same route and averaged 4.28 miles an hour and did it 2 minutes faster than I had on Tuesday night. I was very chuffed!! 

I know that I have said this before but I will repeat it again. I am someone who needs to have a plan of action. If I don't then I am likely not to do something. I like structure and order. I printed the 12 week plan onto A3 and have taped it to my fridge. I have crossed off every day and have done each day that I have planned, even the pilates, which was surprisingly harder than I thought that it would be!

So week 1 down and only 11 to go until the night of Saturday 14 May. I have bought myself a #walkthewalk bumbag this week which I will use for the first time tomorrow. I have been wearing a jacket and getting very hot; the only reason that I wear the jacket is to keep my house keys and phone in. I now have something to carry them in and it looks very fetching! 

The next plan of action is to set up my fundraising page because the main reason that I a doing this is to raise money. Obviously, there are some other benefits happening along the way!

Are you a film critic?!

Since 5 December I have been to the cinema nearly every weekend. It's my reward, as part of my life insurance policy, for the walking that I do each week. It's also free!

As I have seen so many films over the last 9 weeks or so, I am thinking that I may be slowly turning into a bit of a film critic!? It has been suggested to me that I could blog my thoughts on the films that I have seen. You know who you are . . . so, thanks, and here goes!

So, here is the list of films that I have seen;

• The Hunger Games; Mockingjay Part 2
• Spectre
• Bridge of Spies
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• The Danish Girl
• The Revenant
• Creed
• The Big Short
• Spotlight
• Concussion
• Triple 9

There are some BIG films here and I have my thoughts on several of them with the Oscars coming up next weekend. So here are a couple of the categories and the films nominated;

Best Picture

• The Big Short
• Bridge of Spies
• Brooklyn
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Room
• Spotlight

Best Director

• The Big Short
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Room
• Spotlight

Actor in a Leading Role

• Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
• Matt Damon,  The Martian
• Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
• Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
• Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Actress in a Leading Role

• Cate Blanchett, Carol
• Brie Larson, Room
• Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
• Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
• Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale, The Big Short
• Tom Hardy,  The Revenant
• Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
• Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
• Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Jennifer Jason Leigh,  The Hateful Eight
• Rooney Mara,  Carol
• Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
• Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
• Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

So, I have seen 5 out of the 8 films nominated for Best Picture. 3 out of the 5 films nominated for Best Director. 3 out of 5 for Actor in a Leading Role. I'm afraid to say that I have seen none of the films that the Actress in a Leading Role have been nominated in. I have seen all 5 of the Actor in a Supporting Role and 2 out of 5 of the Actress in a Supporting Role films.

If I was to have a vote on where the awards would go this is where my votes would go;

• Best Picture: The Revenant
• Best Director: The Revenant
• Actor in a Leading Role: Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
• Actress in a Leading Role: I can't say!
• Actor in a Supporting Role: Sylvester Stallone, Creed 
• Actress in a Supporting Role: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Now, having done this I find my responses very interesting! I enjoyed The Revenant as a film, some of the cinematography was amazing but I felt like I had wasted two and a half hours of my life. Why then have I picked it for Best Picture and Best Director? The simple answer is that The Danish Girl is not up for Best Picture. If it was then it would get my vote.  The Danish Girl is probably the best of all the films that I have seen. I can honestly say that I was completely moved by this film; the acting was phenomenal. Totally believable, which is how I believe that acting should be. You should be immersed in the film and believe the characters. This I did not feel watching The Revenant which is why Leonardo DiCaprio does not get my vote.

Sylvester Stallone gets my vote for Actor in a Supporting Role. I am a Rocky baby; well not quite but my dad loved the Rocky films (well 1, 2 and 3!). I learnt how to play the Eye of the Tiger on my trumpet! Sylvester Stallone has done a lot of action films which have dumbed him down as an actor but in Creed he truly acts. There were so many references to Rocky and yet it wasn't a Rocky film.

Am I enjoying going to the cinema every weekend? Yes, I am! I am sure that as this year goes on there may be a weekend that I don't go as there will be nothing worthy of watching but at the moment that is not the case.

On track. . .

This picture hangs in my sitting room and is there as a reminder for lots of things in my life.

I set myself a goal, which was to be back in my healthy BMI range, by this week. We won't go into discussing BMI ranges at the moment, as I have my own thoughts on that! A couple of weeks ago I did not think that it was possible as my weight loss was slow and steady but I have lost 5lbs in the last two weeks and have achieved it! In the first seven weeks of 2016 I have lost a total of 10lbs.

It is my birthday in six weeks time and if I can lose half that amount again I will be happy. The goal that I will actually set myself is 7lbs or half a stone. Let's see!

I'm back on the track, on the correct path, doing what you ask? Something that I believe wholeheartedly in . . . TRACKING everything that I eat and drink. It really does work. 

I went out with the girls from work, for something to eat, on Tuesday. I intended to be really good. I'd researched the menu online and chosen what I was having; all good. Problem?! Yes, on the specials board was a Winter Berries Eton Mess! Well, of course, I HAD to have it; who wouldn't?!? So the next dilemma is do you acknowledge that you have had it. Pre being back on track the honest answer to that would have been no! Good me, said 'yes, of course you do!' There then lies a problem. Trying to search through the Weightwatchers app to find something 'similar' gave a wide range of SmartPoint values. From as little as 9sp to a whopping 45sp! I decided to plump for a middle one being 23sp. That meant that I was -12sp across the week. I have set my app up to not take from my FitPoints so that I am not tempted to do this; I earned 81 FitPoints this week. I could have just left it at that but decided that I needed to look at the remainder of the week and make some adjustments. I managed to claw back 6sp's which left me on -6sp; hardly anything over just by changing a couple of things.

To be on the correct track I believe that you need to decide what it is that you want to achieve, even if it is just a little thing, then set that as the goal. To be honest, the smaller the goal actually is then the more likely that you are to achieve it. Small steps on the journey. The destination may be too far away; think about each goal as a station or stop along the way. Reward yourself at each stop. This can help with the motivation; it doesn't need to be a lot just a little something to acknowledge the journey that you are on. A trip to the cinema? A walk around the shops? Meeting a friend for a coffee? How about a reward chart set up with each of the stops along the way.

At the Weightwatchers meeting that I go to, for every half pound we lose we get given a marble to put in a jar on the front table. The clinks as they are put in are very satisfying to hear. This week we were given a Lego brick for each half pound and asked to build a wall. The visual of that solid wall is in my head from all the weight lost in the meeting. If I think about my own weight loss that would be 22 bricks and really is something to be proud of. How are you doing? How about building your own wall and seeing how far you have come?

The answer is; keep doing what you are doing. TRACK. . . TRACK. . . TRACK. This is where success starts. . . 

Six weeks into 2016. . . how are you doing?!

We are now at the end of the first six weeks of the year. For me, that means that I have got through the first six weeks of the Spring Term and am now having a well deserved break!

So how have your new year's resolutions been going?! Are you still going strong or have you slipped a bit?! I am going to chat about each of the things that I have been doing; awesome notes and saving; weight loss; and finally Tessa's Moments!

Awesome notes and saving

I have now got £21 in my savings jar, having saved £1 in week 1, £2 in week 2, etc. It is amazing how a little can add up. I am aware that I may not be able to sustain this for the whole year but I am planning to keep going for as long as I can. If I get to week 30 (that's the end of July) I'll have £465, week 40 (that's the beginning of October) £820 and week 52 £1378!

My jar is filling nicely with awesome moments; I can smile warmly, now, thinking about some of the notes that I can remember in the last six weeks, so when I open it at the start of 2017 I may have to have a party to share some of the laughs that I will have with others!

Weight loss

This blog has been being written in my head for some time and up until this week I was going to write something along the lines of the tortoise and the hare and slow and steady winning the race and not rushing things. I will still say all of that but in six weeks I have managed to lose 8lbs, 5% of my original starting weight. I had set myself a goal to be back at my healthy BMI range by week seven and last week did not think that was possible but after the weight loss that I had this week I am really on target to achieve that:

Week 1: 1lb gain (first weigh in after Christmas and New Year)

Week 2: 3lb loss

Week 3: 1.5lb loss

Week 4: 0.5lb gain

Week 5: 1lb loss

Week 6: 3lb loss

I have lost a total of 9lbs since rejoining Weight Watchers and know that it just takes a bit of work. . . and commitment! 

I just want to add that I am keeping an eye on my weight loss to see if there is a pattern. I am a very boring eater and although what I eat is generally healthy, I tend to eat similar things every week. This would suggest that I should be losing the same amount every week but as you can see that's not true! Let's see what the weight loss looks like in another six weeks and see if there is a pattern. . . 

Tessa's moments

As part of my blog I have previously talked about headaches, trouble sleeping and other perimenopausal symptoms. I had a migraine at the beginning of December, which resulted in two days off work, and another one between Christmas and New Year that had me confined to bed for another two days. 

I was 'bullied' by the girls at work into going to the doctors and very much thought that the discussion would be me giving into HRT as I couldn't see any other way forward. I will not use the word depression lightly but I will say that the migraines were starting to get me down. . . significantly. 

The doctor I saw said that due to concerns raise in the medical community that doctors were now very reluctant to put women on HRT. Phew. . . at least I did not have to deal with that! We then had a discussion about SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and trying to deal with my symptoms or trying to manage the migraines when I get them. I think that anyone reading this who has suffered with migraines will know what my response was! Now this is the bit where I don't really know what the doctor is talking about but I'm putting my trust in him to give me something that might help!

I arrived back at work with my prescription for Fluoxetine to be informed by the girls at work that I'd been given Prozac. Does he think I'm a slightly crazy, middle-aged woman??!! He does know me, even though he'd only just met me!!!

I went home, did some research before taking the first pill, and then decided that it couldn't do me any harm. For those interested, I started taking the Fluoxetine on day 10 of my cycle, and the doctor told me that it would take at least two weeks for the drug to get into my system so it may not help so much with my cycle that month. I'd only been given a 30 day supply to start with and told to go and get some blood tests done. 

I went back four weeks later, having taken 27 pills, and having gone through a cycle. Did I get a migraine? Yes, but it wasn't half as bad as it had been for the two months before and it had helped with some of my other symptoms; the night sweats were not as bad and the waking up, and being awake for 2/3 hours in the night for up to 10 days before I come on, were greatly reduced. It did still wake at around 2.30am but was able to get almost straight back to sleep. The other added bonus was that normally challenging behaviours in teenagers were met with a very chilled out Tessa!!

The doctor gave me the results of my blood tests and informed me 'that I was ovulating like a trooper'! Thanks!! I'm not sure that this is what I wanted to hear but I do know that perimenopausal symptoms can present for up to ten years before you actually go through the menopause. Let's hope that the Fluoxetine continues do work!

So, in 7 weeks time I will be 47. I hope to have lost another 7lbs by then. I will be well and truly into my #Moonwalk training. I'll have also done the Grizedale Go Ape zip line with two awesome and probably slightly scared friends!